1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paycheck-centric payroll system and method for generating, accumulating and reporting on payroll information including payroll deductions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, traditional payroll systems include a payroll setup phase 100a which precedes a payroll processing phase 100b. In the payroll setup phase, company (employer) 102 and employee 104 setup information that does not change from pay period to pay period is entered. From this information, a payroll setup 106 is created. If there are no new employees since the last payroll was run, preparation for payroll processing 107, 109b includes prior payroll reconciliation 108 and achieving a state ready for payroll processing 110. If there are new employees to be added since the last payroll was run, preparation for payroll processing 107, 109a includes an enter new employee activity 105, employee setup 104, payroll setup 106, payroll reconciliation 108 and achieving a state ready for payroll processing 110.
Payroll processing 100b is ready to begin after payroll setup reaches the ready for payroll processing state 110. Payroll processing steps include making time card/earning entries for each employee 112, generating and printing paychecks 114, accounting for payroll tax deposits 116 and payroll reporting (USIRS form 941) 118.
As can be seen, the sequential, employee-list-centric model of traditional payroll systems requires a lengthy setup procedure before any paychecks can be generated. Such systems are not user friendly, require the assistance of human technical/customer support during at least the setup phase and are inflexible. But, operators of such systems are the dominant providers of payroll system services in the United States. Such operators have little motivation to upset their current success by developing and offering payroll systems that eliminate the need for the highly profitable administrative and setup services that are the cornerstone of their businesses.